Molly and Yoshi Return
by evenstar8705
Summary: One shot but a sort of companion to 'Medical Miracle'. Set nearly twenty years after the Dominion War, Molly and Yoshi O'Brien request postings on the space station they once called home to the delight of the Kira clan.


The Kira clan was excited to welcome their extended family back to the station of DS9. Molly and Kirayoshi (Yoshi to most) had both graduated from Starfleet Academy and requested postings. Molly was old enough that she had fond memories of her time on the station and Yoshi had been carried by Nerys as his surrogate mother and was born there. They had visited the station but only a few brief times. Now they would be permanent residents!

Nerys looked at their files fondly. She felt strongly maternal toward Yoshi and Molly had always been such a sweet girl. When she looked at them all grown up she felt a surge of pride. Their parents would remain on Earth and that was a shame. She missed Miles and Keiko but promised them she would take care of their children but she wouldn't show them too much favor and let them slack off in their departments. Molly was going to be the new science officer and Yoshi was to start out training in the mechanical department. He didn't have half the training his older sister had but that was due to her age and experience.

Kira Pohl was the first to greet them. He was training to be a security officer like his father Odo so he checked them in and escorted them around the station. That was a pleasant surprise to Molly. It had been years since she had seen him. He was almost a man! Technically he probably was by Earth standards and she heard Bajorans were considered adults earlier. She had forgotten his exact age.

Despite already being acquainted with the O'Briens and not actually a deputy, Pohl was formal and by the book as he initiated Molly and Yoshi through the security process. He resembled his father so much! He was tall, thin, with blonde hair and blue eyes just like Odo. He even possessed his stiff Constable stance. His face was far more handsome though. His mother Nerys was able to give him a full face and not the half formed mask his father had formed as a Changeling and was stuck with as a human.

"Hello, Kira Pohl," she tried to bait him to speak, curious what his voice would sound like at present.

He bowed his head, silent and serious and denying to sate her desire.

"Pohl!" Yoshi was much closer in age and shared some partial Bajoran with him through his surrogate's placenta. "Good to see you, brother!"

He reached to pull the young man into a bear hug but Pohl stopped him by pointing to his ear and skillfully side stepping him.

"Yes, I'm wearing a Bajoran earring!" Yoshi grinned. "I'm of age and I do it to honor you Kiras! Where's yours?"

Pohl finally spoke, "I do possess one, but I don't sport it unless I am attending ceremonies. It's not ideal in my profession to have something so obvious dangling in plain sight for a criminal to latch onto."

"Well said!" Molly smiled broadly.

"You grew your hair long, both of you," Pohl noted.

His voice, to Molly's delight, was not as gravely as his father's but was about what she expected and she demanded, "You must give us a tour and show us to our rooms later!"

"Of course," Pohl bowed like a gentleman.

Nerys and the rest of the Kira clan were waiting for them to join with the group for dinner on the Promenade. Taban was more friendly and serene then his elder brother. He was also far more religious and wore his earring proudly in his short strawberry blonde hair. Iliana the baby was not such a baby anymore. At thirteen going on fourteen, she had become as beautiful and fiery as her mother, complete with red hair but the sky blue eyes of Odo and Pohl. While Taban spoke of Bajor and the monastery he was attending, Iliana was gushing with energy and zeal.

Molly and Yoshi treated Nerys like their own mother for tonight. Within the next work week, she was to be their Commander first and surrogate second. Almost twenty years had passed and Kira Nerys was a Vedek but still firmly in command of the station and her warrior heart was fierce as ever. Molly noticed that Pohl sat close by his mother and was dutiful and attentive to her most of all and hardly said a word at dinner. He hadn't smiled a single time that evening either.

After the meal, Pohl gave them a tour as was requested. He knew every part of the station. It had changed so much! There were religious artifacts everywhere since the station had become a place of pilgrimage, practically a giant floating shrine in space. Jem'Hadar soldiers patrolled the hallways but they wore temple robes instead of armor. Pohl saw Molly's look of confusion and explained many had converted to the religion of Bajor and become warrior monks. The White addiction had also been broken.

"How does Commander Kira feel about that?" Molly asked uneasily.

"She is a Vedek and gives them spiritual counsel along with orders as their Commander. They are nothing like they were under the Dominion. They have a will and desires. Some of them are even starting families."

"How? They are mono-gendered."

"Not anymore. That's another breakthrough. Some brilliant scientists were able to restore their females back to them," Pohl stated.

"Really?"

As he told her more, Molly's anxiety eased a little. Unlike her brother, she vaguely remembered the horror of the Dominion War. She had been taken from the station for safe-keeping during the ugliest parts, but she feared for her father Miles and Worf and Nerys especially. Yoshi was an infant and so he was merely fascinated by the intimidating soldiers turned monks.

"The Jem'Hadar are devoted and disciplined. They specialize in CQC and have blunt weapons that they have never had to use yet. They also pay close attention to my orders because of my father," Pohl cleared his throat between the last few words.

"Yes, Odo was like a god to them, wasn't he?"

"They perceived him as such," Pohl clenched his handsome jaw.

"What do you think of your father?" Molly asked bluntly.

He paused but answered confidently, "He was no god, but in the end, he was something better. He was my father."

"I always liked him, you know?"

Pohl stopped in his tracks to absorb every word she said touching upon his lost parent. His mother had told him much and more but Molly's point of view would be entirely new and priceless.

"I was just a little girl, but Constable Odo made me feel safe," Molly continued. "I got lost often on this station, but I could easily find my way to his office. He would place me on his knee and read to me until my parents fetched me eventually. My mother was busy at the school and my father was always tinkering with something. Odo seemed very nervous the first time I dropped by, but after a few times, he seemed to like it. He insisted he was more than happy to watch me as long as needed."

"That sure sounds like my father. He always seemed nervous around little kids but he was good with them in spite of that," Pohl nodded. "At least that's what mother says."

"I liked being in his office so much that I got lost on purpose nine times out of ten," Molly confessed. "I especially liked that man's voice. He could read instruction manuals and make them sound like the most gratifying thing in the quadrant! I'm sure you've heard recordings of him?"

"I have and you are right. In fact, he recorded audio books. Mother would play them for us when we were fussy about bed time. Miss O'Brien, thank you for your memories! I appreciate them very much!" Pohl sounded almost emotional for a brief moment.

"I was incredibly lucky to have known him."

The three of them began to walk again. Yoshi was taking in all the sights and sounds but Molly was more interested in her escort.

"Your accent," Pohl said suddenly, "I noticed that it's much stronger than Yoshi's. I don't know all the dialects of Earth. What is it?"

"Irish," she told him. "Da wanted us to spend as much time on the Rock as possible. We moved there for a long enough period that I picked up the accent. I was older than Yoshi so I spent more time overall with the O'Brien branch of the family and school mates. I kept close friends long after I graduated the primary schools and found my way to the Starfleet Academy. I've never been able to shake it. It's even more noticeable than Da's. Then again, our choice of peers affects our linguistics more than any other influence."

"I suppose that is true. We speak Bajoran at home."

"Luckily we know that language too! Tell me something: Do you ever feel like a Changeling?" Molly asked impulsively.

"No, but I dream about turning into a hawk and soaring the Promenade frequently," Pohl admitted.

"If I touch you, would you glow amber?"

"No!" he was blushing fiercely.

"Look at that!" she observed. "I think you might have some Changeling DNA in you somewhere! You are turning into a tomato! Your father couldn't turn crimson like you! It's _kawaii_!"

"I'm sorry, but what is that word? Is that English?"

"Japanese. It means: Cute or adorable."

"It also usually refers to women and not men, Molly," Yoshi rolled his eyes.

"Make no mistake, Miss O'Brien, I am flesh and blood. I am half Bajoran and half human."

"Call me Molly! We are practically the same tribe!" she whined a little.

"You are a science officer. I should call you by rank," he insisted.

"You aren't Starfleet. This must be my room?"

"Aye."

"Thank you for the tour, Constable."

"I am not-"

"See you tomorrow!" she entered her quarters and shut the door.

"You still need to show me to my room, Pohl," Yoshi reminded him when he continued to stare at the closed door.

"Yes!" Pohl said too loudly. "Your sister managed to distract me. I apologize!"

"Molly does that."

Pohl grunted, "Then she's a bit like my sister Iliana!"

Yoshi had no real memory of DS9 and yet he adapted well to space. Molly had the advantage of spending a large chunk of her early childhood on starships and stations. However, her brother told Nerys and the others that something about the hum and white noise of the station soothed him to sleep. That made the Commander laugh as she reminded him of the naps he took as a baby in the engine room when Miles was forced to take him with him to work!

Taban dismissed himself to pay the shrine a visit. Iliana challenged her surrogate brother to spar in the suites and the two of them were off with a competitive glint in their eyes. Pohl had eaten quickly and left long before anyone else.

"How are you sleeping, Molly?" Kira Nerys asked.

"Not well. I might need to borrow your son to make me feel more secure."

"You mean Pohl? Why?"

"I'm concerned there may be vermin or some whippersnapper playing in the ceiling or wiring between rooms. I thought I heard scraping sounds and breathing coming from the vent. Pohl makes me feel safe."

"I'll let him know," Kira winked.

Pohl was at her door later the same evening and investigated with diligence. Molly pretended to be working on an antiquated laptop but was actually watching him from the tail of her eye.

"Remind me, Constable, how old are you?"

"Ow!" Pohl banged his head as he was on his hands and knees searching under her bed. "I just turned eighteen."

"Oh, good!"

"Why is that good?" his face appeared looming above her screen.

"You are eligible to become an official security officer at that age, no?"

"I am in training."

"Isn't security in your blood?"

"I take the job very seriously and I don't skip steps!"

"How very proper of you!"

"Are you making fun of me, Miss O'Brien?"

"No, and stop calling me that."

"Maybe I will when you stop calling me Constable. There is nothing wrong with your quarters. Children and juveniles are known to try to slip into the quarters of young women but I see no evidence of that. Some try to violate the no pets rule and keep all sorts of animals that escape into the station. There is no sign of that either."

"I must be simply anxious. Thank you, Constable! I feel so much better now!"

"Will you please stop calling me that?"

"Pohl, then?"

He made a disapproving noise and left.

"Mother, Molly O'Brien seems far too interested in my doings," Pohl complained several months later.

"How so, son?"

"She stops by my office to say 'hello' every morning."

"That's just a courtesy."

"She does it like literally every morning!"

"That must be so alarming!" Kira Nerys laughed.

"No, it's not horrible. I just can't help but be frazzled by it."

"That's hardly a problem."

"She's invited me to drink at Quark's bar. I told her I don't drink."

"Just like your father," his mother sighed.

"After I said that she invited me to have tea and biscuits."

"Where?" Nerys shot him a glance. "In her quarter or yours?"

"She didn't specify. Does it matter whose quarters?"

"No, I guess not. Have you taken that offer?"

"No."

"Why not?" his mother pried.

"That woman intimidates me."

"Why?"

"She's nearly ten years my senior. She's intelligent. She's practically family."

"These sound like good qualities," Nerys gestured.

"She has such a charming accent. She has those beautiful Japanese features. She is sweet but direct and…"

"And?" his mother's eyes were big and bright.

"Any relationship might be deemed highly inappropriate."

"If you say so."

Kira Nerys sipped her coffee and acted as though her son was being reasonable. Inwardly, she knew better.

The next morning was a Tuesday and Molly was making her obligatory greeting at Pohl's office. When she boldly sat in the chair opposite him, however, Kira Pohl made no acknowledgement of her presence. He was working hard, working hard not to notice her.

"Constable Kira!" she attempted different forms of his name or title. "Kira Pohl!"

"May I help you, Miss O'Brien?" he refused eye-contact.

She cursed and said, "I'm through dilly-dallying!"

To Pohl's horror and delight, Molly O'Brien launched herself like a torpedo across his desk, seized his shoulders, and she kissed him with all of her might! He wanted to fight her off but quickly adopted her attitude and committed to the kiss instead. She smelled of jasmine and he smelled of crisp cloth and rain, much like his father.

"I'm too young for you!" he said when she broke away.

"You're no child, Pohl!"

"Your father is going to murder me!"

"I'd never let him! Besides, everyone knows my father is all bark and no bite!"

"We're practically family!"

"Yoshi came out of your mother, not me!"

"Who am I kidding?" he sighed. "Even if your father does kill me, this would be worth it!"

He closed the door of his office, turned off the security devices, and they continued to warm each other in the office.


End file.
